Taken from the menu of El Bulli, Barcelona, Spain
Serves 4
Ferran Adrià is the master conjuror. Nothing so simple as a straightforward potato soup from him, but this really works. The egg whites are used to clarify the soup, and you can get muslin from any material shop.
500g large potatoes, skin on
500ml well-seasoned chicken stock
1 leek, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 stick celery, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 sprigs of thyme
2 egg whites
4 tsp crème fraîche
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.
2 Scrub the potatoes and place in the oven. Cook for 1 hour and then lower
the temperature to 160C/Gas 2 and
cook for a further 11?2 hours. Leave to
cool in the oven.
3 Carefully hollow out the jacket potatoes, saving the insides for something else,
and return the skins to the oven for another 10 minutes to crisp up a little.
4 Bring the stock to the boil and add the skins, vegetables, herbs, coriander seeds and egg whites. Bring back to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
5 Strain through a sieve lined with muslin. This will take a while but don’t be tempted to force the liquid through as this will cloud the soup.
6 To serve, return the strained soup to the pan and reheat. Serve in small bowls garnished with crème fraîche and chives.